Oregon Supreme Court Bans 10 GOP Senators from Reelection Bids

The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that 10 Republican state senators are ineligible to run for reelection due to their role in a walkout over legislative disputes. The court's unanimous decision enforces a voter-approved measure from 2022, Measure 113, which stipulates that legislators with ten or more unexcused absences are disqualified from seeking reelection. This decision affects senators who boycotted Senate sessions for six weeks last year in protest of a bill related to abortion and transgender care that they deemed too radical.

While the Oregon Senate Republican Caucus has criticized the ruling, arguing that the court is politically biased, the decision affirms the action taken by Democratic Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade in August of the previous year. The senators affected by the ruling include Bill Hansell and Lynn Findley, who had planned to retire, as well as Daniel Bonham, Cedric Hayden, Kim Thatcher, and Suzanne Weber, who were elected to four-year terms in 2022 and will remain in office until January 2027. The boycott was historically significant, lasting six weeks and delaying the passage of numerous bills. The Supreme Court's interpretation of the measure is that legislators who have violated the attendance requirement would be disqualified from holding office in the term immediately following their current term.